The present invention relates to a convertible table system having a fixed portion with adjustable leaves along at least two adjacent edges, and more particularly to a convertible table system with adjustable leaves that can be removed and replaced in a variety of orientations to customize the configuration and size of the work surface of the table.
In general, convertible tables are well known in the art. Further, these prior art convertible tables can be roughly classified into four categories. The simple drop leaf style table is exemplary of the first type. In a drop leaf table, when the leaves are inactive they hang vertically along the sides of the table and are in the way of the legs of persons seated at the table making it virtually impossible to use the sides of the table when the leaves are stored.
The second category of table is a variation of the simple drop leaf table that includes elaborate mechanisms for raising and lowering four table leaves at the same time. In this type of table, however, the raising and lowering mechanisms preclude the leaves being able to be rotated through 180xc2x0 thus preventing them from resting flush against the bottom of the table. This results in the leaves protruding from the bottom of the table along the outer attachment edge, creating a potential conflict with the legs of a user. In addition, the elaborate mechanism is expensive to construct and would require significant maintenance, creating a serious disadvantage if the tables were to be used in an environment that where they were frequently operated.
A third category of table includes a complicated hinge mechanism about which the leaves are rotated. In each case, the table leaf can be rotated substantially through 180xc2x0. However, the hinging mechanism lies between the stored leaf and the bottom of the table again causing the stored leaf to protrude from the bottom of the table along its outer attachment edge. Additionally, the complexity of the hinging mechanism means that such tables are not cost effective for mass production.
Finally, the fourth category of convertible table includes a drop leaf that is pivoted on ordinary hinges and held in an elevated operative position either by a swing out leg or sliding support member which slides beyond the edge of the base of the table to support the leaf in the operative position and retracts to be substantially at or adjacent the edge in the stored configuration. When the leaf is retracted it rests against or adjacent the sliding member rather than against the bottom of the tabletop similar to the first category of hanging leaf tables.
Another type of resizable table not included in the categories noted above is the type that includes completely removable leaves. In this type of table, typically the type seen in most dining room table sets, the table leaves that allow expansion of the table surface are placed in the middle of the table. When the leaves are not in use, they must be stored in an alternate location to prevent damage. This requirement for storage can be particularly problematic when the table is employed in an apartment type environment where storage space is already at a premium.
In this regard, the instant invention provides an improved convertible table construction that includes a central table base section having a central tabletop section with at least two adjacent edges and at least two adjustable leaves as will be further described below. For the purposes of this specification the expression xe2x80x9ctablexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cconvertible tablexe2x80x9d is intended to include not only xe2x80x9ctablesxe2x80x9d as that expression is normally and customarily understood but also office furniture such as desks, computer work stations, kitchen benches and movable trolleys and shelving units and any other similar construction where it is desirable to have optional extensions of adjacent sides of the operative working surfaces.
Accordingly, the present invention may be said broadly to include a convertible table (as herein defined) that has a base with a fixed top work surface that further includes at least one pair of adjacent edges, to which the operable leaves are attached. The leaves are unique in configuration in that when viewed from the end they are xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped with one leg of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d being a large work surface and the other leg being a smaller work surface. The xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped leaves have attachment hardware along the intersection of the legs that allow the leaves to be attached to the edges of the top work surface of the table base.
The hardware of the present invention is uniquely configured to allow the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped leaves to be attached in two different orientations. The first configuration allows the large portion of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped leaves to be attached in an operable position whereby they are planar with the top work surface of the table base and the second leg of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d depends downwardly therefrom in a storage position along the legs of the support base. The second configuration is reversed from the first where the smaller portion of the leaves is in operable position and the larger leaves are in the downward storage position. Further, the leaves of the table of the present invention can be configured independently of one another where one leaf is mounted with the large work surface in operable position and the second leaf is mounted with the small work surface in the operable position. It should also be understood that this configuration can be reversed as described above.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of the previously described convertible tables through the provision of a novel customizable table leaf system. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a convertible table device that employs a leaf system that allows the table work surface to have an adjustable size while also providing integral storage for the inactive table leaf. It is yet another object of the present invention to produce a convertible table system that allows the user to customize the size of the work surface in a simple manner that also provides for integral storage of the inactive leaf in a manner that does not interfere with the user of the table while also eliminating the need for separate storage provisions.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.